25 Books Like Where the Crawdads Sing

by Kelly Mustian

Ada comes from a hard life on the swamp, and Matilda is a sharecropper's daughter. So it wasn't likely for these teenage girls to end up connected through a murder.

Set in the 1920s Mississippi bayou, you'll follow the teens deep into the world of bootleggers and corruption as they try to stay safe and come to terms with their complex past.

By Lisa Wingate

Like Kya, the characters in Before We Were Yours grow up close to the water in an isolated area. They live on a Mississippi River shanty boat until the Tennessee Children's Home Society forever uproots their lives.

The book is based on the true story of Georgia Tann's "adoption" agency. The agency claimed to help orphans but kidnapped poor children and trafficked them to wealthy families.

Like Kya, the children in Before We Were Yours must learn how to survive difficult circumstances. Melissa enjoyed that the story spanned generations. Throughout the book, you experience their hard times, but also get to peek into their senior years and see how their lives evolved.

This would be a great book club pick for discussion!

by Erica Bauermeister

Emmeline grows up alone on an isolated island off the coast of British Columbia with her father. He teaches her how to live through her ability to smell - for both practical applications like hunting and for preserving memories.

We haven't read Scent Keeper yet, but this coming-of-age novel comes up anytime we see people discussing Where the Crawdads Sing. Nature plays a key role throughout the book, and we can't wait to dig in and experience why everyone loves it so much.

This book is included with Kindle Unlimited as of 8/24/22.

by Ruth Emmie Lang

This debut novel, written by Ruth Emmie Lang, is magical in story and language.

Instead of growing up in a swamp like Kya, Weylyn Grey was raised by wolves after being orphaned. After surviving on his own in nature, he has developed some supernatural abilities. In Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance, Weylyn's story is told by those who have encountered him throughout many years.

Even if you're not usually a fan of fantasy, we think you'll love this interesting character!

By Gene Stratton-Porter

If you're looking for a similar storyline to Crawdads, check out A Girl of the Limberlost. This 1909 classic is a stand-alone sequel to the 1904 book Freckles. In A Girl of the Limberlost, Elnora is the main character who struggles with her mother and her school. She gets solace in an eastern Indiana swamp and meets a boy who shares her love of nature. She finds a way to turn her love of nature into funding for the education she craves.

This book is rated as appropriate for 3rd grade and up. It would be fun to read aloud with your upper elementary or middle school kids.

As of 8/24/22, this book is free for all on Kindle!

By Eowyn Ivey

In the Snow Child, you'll be transported to another demanding environment - 1920s Alaska. Jack and Mabel are newcomers to the Alaska lifestyle, and it is a struggle for them. But, during the first snowfall of the year, they decide to have some fun and build a child out of snow.

In the morning, the snow child is gone, but they see a young girl, Faina, running through the trees. This Pulitzer Prize finalist explores Jack and Mabel's growing relationship with Faina and her past.

The Book Girls Say...Melissa hesitated to pick up both The Snow Child and Crawdads, and quickly realized she should have read them both sooner. This is a page-turner as you try to figure out what is real. Like Crawdads, it tugs at your heartstrings throughout. It would be a great pick for book clubs to read during the winter.

By Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly

Set in 1927 in the tiny town of Hobnob, Mississippi, this book tells the story of two federal agents who arrive in town to investigate the disappearance of two other agents who had been chasing a bootlegger. At a crime scene, they discover an abandoned baby boy, and Agent Ingersoll is determined to find the boy a good home as he was also an orphan.

A new challenge arises amid their search for the bootleggers, other agents, and a home for the boy. The banks of the Mississippi River are rising and threatening the town.

Similar to Crawdads, both the characters and the environment evoke all the feelings as you read this historical mystery.

The Book Girls Say...Other works by Tom Franklin such as Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter and Hell at the Breech evoke similar Crawdads-style feelings.

by Kim Michele Richardson

This book is based on the true story of Roosevelt's Kentucky Pack Horse Library Project AND the true story of the blue-skinned people of Kentucky.

Cussy Mary Carter is a traveling librarian, bringing books to Appalachia. Being both blue-skinned and an outsider means she faces prejudice every trip to town. Like Kia, she's most comfortable at home with a book, but has a huge heart. You'll fall in love with her and keep the pages turning through both good and bad. Her experiences navigating the mountains are reminiscent of Kia and her boat navigating the marsh.

The Book Girls Say...There is also a great sequel to this book called The Book Woman's Daughter.

In 2022, the real Troublesome creek flooded, destroying many homes, businesses, and libraries. Author Kim Michele Richardson has information on how to help.

By Leah Weiss

If the Creek Don't Rise is set in the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina. It's another area of the United States that shares some of the same struggles of the low country where Kya is raised.

Sadie Blue quickly realizes that her marriage is a mistake, but doesn't see a way out until a stranger arrives in town.

Some readers find the local dialect distracting or difficult, but once they are absorbed into the story find it hard to put down.

by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

Victoria Jones spent her childhood in the foster-care system, and the lack of care has made her bitter and untrusting. Finally, at 18, she is emancipated with nowhere to go. Like Kya, Victoria isn't connected to any other humans but is deeply connected to nature. In her case, it's flowers and the meaning behind each different type.

She has a gift for helping others through flowers, but an unexpected encounter with a stranger has her questioning everything, including dark secrets from her past. Will she ever be able to create a new life for herself?

by Deb Spera

Set in and near the swamps of South Carolina in 1924, this historical fiction novel tells the story of motherhood and womanhood. The story centers around three women at a crossroad - Gertrude, Retta, and Annie.

Gertrude, a mother of four, must make a difficult decision to save her daughters. Retta is a first-generation freed slave who comes to Gertrude's aid. And Annie, the matriarch of the influential Coles family, offers Gertrude a job.

Despite having seemingly nothing in common, these three women unite to stand up to injustices long plaguing the small town. This book is a timeless story about the power of family, community, and the ferocity of motherhood.

by Tara Westover

Were you heartbroken by Kya's lack of access to formal education too? If so, Educated would be a good book to read next and continue that theme.

This bestseller is a memoir from Tara Westover, who was raised by an isolated group of survivalists in Idaho. She didn't enter a classroom until she was 17. From that point, she was still able to earn a Ph.D. from Cambridge.

By William Kent Krueger

Like Beartown, Ordinary Grace has the same moving storytelling as Crawdads. This time, the main character is Frank, a 13-year old boy in Minnesota in 1961.

When there is a town tragedy, Frank is thrust into adulthood overnight. The novel is part mystery and part coming-of-age story, told by Frank himself as an adult looking back on his life.

by Cea Sunrise Person

After seeing it recommended for Crawdads fans, we're excited to read this highly rated memoir. The author's grandparents fully embraced 1960s counter-culture, including moving from California to the Canadian wilderness.

Cea was raised off the land without running water, electricity, or heat, mostly in isolation outside the hedonistic parties thrown by her grandparents and mom. As Cea gets older, she has to decide if she will embrace the unconventional (and less-than-ideal) world she was born into, or if she can thrive making choices for herself.

By Kristin Hannah

The Magic Hour is a lesser-known book by the bestselling author of The Nightingale & The Great Alone.

Magic Hour takes place in another rough terrain, the Pacific Northwest. A 6-year-old girl appears in the forest, alone and unable to speak. A child psychiatrist is determined to discover the truth about Alice's past, and to help her heal and prepare for a better future.

by Wiley Cash

Like Crawdads, A Land More Kind Than Home is part family drama and part suspenseful mystery. In this case, the main character is Jess, who is very protective of his mute older brother, Christopher. Their mom is involved in church, but this isn't a normal church and the boys aren't allowed to go inside.

When Christopher, who is called Stump, is caught snooping and sees something he isn't supposed to, Jess is thrust into adulthood before he's ready. Suddenly danger, evil, freedom, and deliverance are all within his grasp.

by Sherry Parnell

Like Kya, Birddog Harlin is a girl trying to make the most of a dysfunctional family in a rural area. This fictional coming of age story brings all the feelings, often painful and sad, but tempered with love and hope.

You'll cheer for Birddog and be angry at her mom while being absorbed by the poetic and descriptive language throughout.

by Karen Dionne

Set in the marshlands of upper Michigan, The Marsh King's Daughter is a thriller about Helena Pelletier, who was raised as a survivalist by her criminal father.

Helena's mother was kidnapped as a teen and hidden away in a cabin deep in the marsh. Two years later, Helena was born. She loved her home and even her father until his brutality reached new heights one day.

Twenty years later, her father escaped prison and disappeared into the marsh. Helena is the only person with a chance to find him.

by Faith Merino

Cormorant Lake is a tale of motherhood in various forms, mystical illusions, and coming home, even when home holds past tragedy.

Evelyn Van Pelt can no longer bear seeing her roommate's underfed and neglected young daughters. So one night, she makes the life-changing decision to grab them from bed and drive to the isolated land she left 14 years earlier - Cormorant Lake. Thrust into motherhood and overcome by guilt, she turns to two very different women from her past - her foster mom and her biological mother.

by Barbara Kingsolver

Set in southern Appalachia, Prodigal Summer has been called a Hymn to the wilderness. Set over one summer, three stories intertwine into one nature-focused tale.

Deanna Wolfe is a wildlife biologist on a mission to save a family of coyotes.

Lusa Maluf Landowski is young widowed scientist obsessed with insects.

Nannie Land Rawley is a 70-year-old apple grower.

Separately, they all have challenges with the land and with relationships. Before fall, you'll see their very different stories merge into one.

Joanna Teale has thrown herself into dawn to dusk work studying nesting birds in rural Illinois for her graduate program. It's a great distraction from the loss of her mother and her own breast cancer battle.

Out of nowhere, a bruised girl named Ursa shows up. The girl claims to have been sent from the stars to witness five miracles, but provides no other background information. Concerned about the bruises, Joanna lets the girl stay while enlisting the help of her reclusive neighbor to solve the mystery of where the girl came from.

Over the summer, miracles occur, but as the end of summer and the 5th miracle approach, Ursa's dangerous past also gets closer.

This book is included with Kindle Unlimited as of 8/24/22.

by Abi Dare

On the surface, The Girl with the Louding Voice is very different from Where the Crawdads Sing. Instead of being set in on US marshland, it takes place in Nigeria.

However, you'll find big similarities in the hearts of the main characters. Perhaps even more than Kia, Adunni dreams of an education. The story of her fight to go to school will make you cringe, cry, and cheer. With adversity at every turn, she always pushes forward much like Kia.

The Book Girls Say...We both rated this book 5 stars and hope for a sequel.

by William Kent Kruger

Set in 1932 during the Great Depression, This Tender Land follows four orphans who have escaped the abusive Lincoln Indian Training School. The kids set off down the river, and have to survive the environment while being pursued by the school.

They have to decide whether to trust each stranger they encounter and discover themselves along the way. Equal parts adventure and heart, this book is often described as a modern classic and compared to Huckleberry Finn.

Melissa's husband just finished reading This Tender Land and said it lives up to all the great reviews. She can't wait to pick it up now that he finished reading it!

by Donna Everhard

Head back to 1960s North Carolina for another coming-of-age tale. Jessie is 16 and wants no part in her family legacy - the business of moonshine. She believes that moonshine is the reason her mother died when she was four, but her dad refuses to talk about it.

Jessie's desire for the truth turns into looking for control in other places - like food. As an eating disorder flourishes, Jessie comes up with a scheme to eliminate the moonshine stills, which accidentally brings old rivalries and grudges back to life.

This book is included with Kindle Unlimited as of 8/24/22.

by Margaret Renkl

The highly-rated Late Migrations is a bit different than our other recommendations because it's a series of short essays.

The author offers observations on the natural world, and it's creatures while also exploring the cycles of joy and grief we all experience throughout life.

The descriptions of the essays sound like something Kya would have written!